


At Last

by thesadchicken



Category: Frasier (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, I just love seeing them happy, Songfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, dusted with just the faintest whisper of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29051364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesadchicken/pseuds/thesadchicken
Summary: They're together, at last.
Relationships: Niles Crane/Daphne Moon
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	At Last

_**“** I've got sunshine on a cloudy day  
When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May  
I guess you'd say; what can make me feel this way  
My girl, my girl, my girl  
Talking about my girl **”**_

•••

It’s raining in Seattle; it always is. Heavy droplets fall over the city, painting every street and sidewalk. They gather in nooks and crevices, and cause ripples on the surface of small puddles. The sky is littered with dark clouds, the pavement shines like silver.

Niles decides to walk anyway.

He doesn’t feel the rain dripping down his neck, sliding underneath his collar. He doesn’t even button his coat all the way up. The cold wind feels like a breeze on his reddening cheeks. It’s springtime in his mind.

The Elliott Bay Towers loom up ahead, claiming the sky. Niles walks a little faster, heart racing, eager to get there as soon as possible. He almost regrets leaving his car in a parking garage a few blocks away. But he’s too restless to sit behind the wheel—too impatient to trust himself with a car. He’s not even sure he can walk anymore; he wants to run, run, run all the way there.

He lifts his head to look up at the balcony, and she’s there. She’s there, beaming down at him, beautiful beyond words. Behind her the clouds suddenly part and sunlight breaks through, falling gently upon her head like a golden halo.

She waves at him, and he waves back, and the world has never felt this bright.

•●•

_**“** Oh, and you smile, you smile  
Oh, and then the spell was cast  
And here we are in Heaven  
For you are mine at last **”**_

•••

“Here you go,” Daphne says, pressing a hot cup of tea into Niles’ hands.

He’s wearing Frasier’s shirt and socks, which are at least two sizes too big and look ridiculous on him, but Daphne insisted. _I don’t want you catching a cold_ , she said. And then she placed a kiss on his cheek. And then she laughed because he’d blushed. Her laughter; his favorite sound.

Now they’re in her room, sipping tea. Over his shoulders is the towel that she used earlier to dry his hair. He can’t stop smiling. 

“What?” she smiles too.

“Nothing. Just…” He doesn’t know how to finish that sentence, wouldn’t know where to start. He’s smiling like an idiot.

“I know,” she giggles, looking around the room then at him, sitting on her bed.

It’s surreal, being here with her. He can hardly believe it, even though he’s been in her room before. He even sat on the edge of her bed and read to her when he’d accidentally injured her wrist, only a few months ago. God, that was _only a few months ago_. How different it felt from this, from the easy intimacy of her hand on his knee. Back then it was his lonely heart longing for her; trying very hard not to, but longing for her all the same. Just him, in hopeless, unrequited love with her.

Or so he thought.

Now he basks in the knowledge that she loves him— _she loves him!_ —and even the furniture looks different. He felt this way at home, at work, at Nervosa, all the way to Frasier’s. He can tell she feels it too. It’s a thrill like no other. And the afternoon is still full of possibilities.

“So,” he says, placing his cup on her bedside table, “what do you want to do?”

He’s a little giddy, leg bouncing up and down with excitement. Surprisingly, he is not the least bit nervous as he waits for her answer. Just excited to be spending time with her.

She shifts on the bed, tucking one leg under the other. “Honestly?” She moves again, this time lowering herself onto the mattress and sliding up until her head rests on the pillow. “I just want to stay here and do nothing.”

Niles follows her lead, lying down on his side next to her. “There’s nothing I’d rather do than do nothing with you.”

There it is again, that melodic laugh. She laughs and laughs and laughs, and he watches, entranced. For a moment, he fights the desire to reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear, but then he remembers— _you can, if you want to, Niles_ —and he does, relishing the touch, this simple movement, his hand slipping through Daphne’s hair. No more hiding, no more half-hearted excuses; he gets to be by her side now.

She’s looking at him, lips slightly parted. “I can’t remember ever feeling this happy,” she sighs, remains of a laugh caught in the corner of her mouth.

“Neither can I,” he answers, grinning wildly.

Although they’re in bed together, there is no expectation of anything other than this: the comfort and familiarity of each other’s presence. Niles breathes in her scent—lavender, peach and vanilla. Daphne tilts her head to the side, pressing her cheek into the pillow with feigned bashfulness.

“Good God,” he whispers. “You’re beautiful.”

“So are you,” she says, placing her palm against his cheek and tracing the outline of his lips with her thumb.

He’s taken aback by the compliment, by the wonder in her eyes. He’s never been admired before—not like this. Not with so much tenderness. His eyes flutter closed, he nuzzles the hand cupping his cheek; he must be in heaven.

She’s his best friend. She’s the love of his life. And he is delirious, lost in all this perfect, perfect happiness.

•●•

_**“** Love me tender, love me sweet  
Never let me go  
You have made my life complete  
And I love you so **”**_

•••

The kitchen is a mess. Milk spilled over the counter, flour on the shelves, egg yolk making everything sticky—usually this would drive Niles up the wall. He likes to deal with messes right away, one at a time, and he likes to cook in a clean, well-organized kitchen.

But today he finds that he doesn’t care.

Daphne is singing, swaying from side to side, and Niles’ heart sings along. She slides her arms around his waist as he’s mixing the batter, placing her hands over his, and sways a little faster. He laughs, and a large amount of batter is practically catapulted over the edge of the bowl, but he doesn’t care, he really doesn’t, because Daphne is hugging him from behind, chin against his shoulder, singing still, _love me tender, love me, dear, tell me you are mine_ —

He’s laughing so hard he can barely speak. “ _Daphne_ ,” he manages, and he’s not sure what he wants to say anyway, he just needs to let her know that he’s happy, so deliriously happy, and that he loves her more than words can describe.

His laughter seems to encourage her. She pokes him in the sides, right where he’s the most ticklish—as she discovered the other day, entirely by accident, when they were alone in her room—and he jolts, making an undignified squealing noise that she says she finds adorable.

It’s like a dream, only even his dreams were never this perfect.

Before her, contentment always seemed to elude him, no matter how ‘happy’ he liked to pretend he was. He remembers looking out the windows in that horrible labyrinth of a mansion he used to share with Maris, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He had everything anyone could ever want, and yet he was deeply unsatisfied. Sometimes miserable; always lonely.

Now he’s in the kitchen making muffins with Daphne, and she’s holding the spoon in front of his mouth like a microphone, urging him to sing with her, and he can’t stop laughing even as he complies.

She’s the missing puzzle piece, he realizes.

No, not missing. Not anymore.

•●•

_**“** Blue moon, you saw me standing alone  
Without a dream in my heart  
Without a love of my own_

_Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for  
You heard me saying a prayer for  
Someone I really could care for_

_Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone_  
Without a dream in my heart  
Without a love of my own __ _ **”**_

•••

They’re on the roof, watching the sunset. The world is quiet, the city below finally surrendering to the stillness of the dying day. The sky, rose gold and infinite, holds the shadow of a pale moon. Oh, but Niles can’t take his eyes off the Moon at his side.

The last rays of sunlight catch in her hair, touch her cheek, flicker on her skin—she is a vision, a dream.

When her eyes meet his, his first instinct is to look away, embarrassed at being caught staring. But then she leans in, taking his face in her hands, and kisses him. _Oh. That’s right. No more hiding_.

“Niles,” she sighs, slipping her hand into his, “You’re lovely.”

He’s not used to it yet; being called _lovely_. Being loved so unconditionally, so unreservedly, completely, every part of him. He blinks back at her, a little dazed. It’s still hard to believe that she expects nothing from him—nothing but his heart, which has always been hers. And she will love him tomorrow, and the day after. He doesn’t think he deserves this, but he cherishes every moment spent with her. Every smile, every touch, every word.

A single star has joined the moon in the sky above them. Niles brings Daphne’s hand up to his lips, presses his mouth gently to her wrist. “I adore you,” he breathes against her skin.

Then he looks up at her. Her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes are all he sees before she pulls him closer. She always does this; she always reaches out and pulls him into a hug, just because she wants to be close to him. In the past, it was his job to bestow affection—receiving it required sacrifice and hard work. But with Daphne it’s simple, it’s spontaneous, it’s unlimited. It makes him feel wanted; like maybe, just maybe it’s alright for him to have this.

It makes sense, that this is where he belongs. In her arms.

Another kiss, slow and soft and sweet. He could sob, he could weep with all this joy, how it overwhelms him, how it washes away the years and years of loneliness. God, he’s been so lonely.

“Daphne,” he says, voice breaking quietly, lips trembling against hers, “I’ve been so lonely.”

The words spill out of him before he has the sense to hold his tongue, and for a moment he freezes. But then she holds him closer, closer still, hands tracing infinity loops on his back. “I know, my love,” she whispers.

There are tears in her voice. He can no longer hold back his own. They fall silently from his eyes, slide down his cheeks and get lost in her hair. He rests his head against her shoulder and melts into the embrace.

“You’ll never be alone again,” she promises.

He closes his eyes. Safe, seen, loved.

Loved. At last.

**Author's Note:**

> It breaks my heart that none of Niles' partners before Daphne ever made him feel loved, truly loved, unconditionally. He always had to "earn" their affection, and they always tried to "fix" him. I'm just glad he and Daphne got their happy ending 💕
> 
> The songs that inspired this story are: "My Girl" by The Temptations; "At Last" by Etta James; "Love Me Tender" by Norah Jones; "Blue Moon" (any and all versions)
> 
> I borrowed the infinity loop idea from [robotsdance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotsdance/pseuds/robotsdance)'s stories (read them if you haven't already, you'll thank me later). It's definitely one of my favorite headcanons, that they trace tiny patterns of infinity on each other :')


End file.
